here?”
“Waiting to be invited in, if that’s alright.”
“Of course, of course! Forgive me,” she said, and opened the door wide.
Well, I thought grudgingly, perhaps I had been a trifle impulsive in my first impression.
I looked around in interest. The foyer was large and spacious, and there was a round table with a vase full of flowers in the middle of the floor. Doors lined the hall on either side, and a large staircase swept up to the second floor. There were other furnishings, but description would be useless as antiquities are not my line of expertise.
And then my eyes went to our hostess, and I wondered when she would invite us into a room to sit down. Still she stared at the captain, something between astonishment and apprehension in her gaze. She momentarily glanced behind her at one of the closed doors, and I thought I heard voices, though I couldn’t be sure. And then she turned again and her eyes went to me. Her brows went up enquiringly and she smiled slightly.
Taking her hint, the captain said, “Lady Alistair, may I present Miss Rachel Madera.”
She gracefully held out her hand to me, and I took it.
“So, you’re finally betrothed! Congratulations Mallory. She is very pretty. How kind of you to bring her by to introduce us. Now, if that is all ….”
We both shook our heads. “Oh, we’re not getting married,” I said.
“You’re not?” she asked, and then she, too, began to look shocked, eyeing me from head to toe. “Then, you’re unchaperoned?”
“In fact, it is a part of the reason we came to see you,” the captain told her. “But the explanation is going to be involved, and I rather hoped we could sit down.”
Increasingly agitated with every word, Lady Alistair nearly wrung her hands now. “Oh, Mallory. Of course I’ll sit with you, but I’m afraid I have a small party assembled, though we’re just about to break up. So if you’ll give me a moment ….”
“Forgive us for intruding,” he answered easily. “Take all the time you need. Rachel … I mean, Miss Madera and I shall wait for you.”
Lady Alistair stopped and eyed me when the captain stumbled over his words, but she didn’t say anything. And when her eyes returned to the captain, it was to see him entering the first door on the right.
“We’ll wait here in the study. No doubt —”
“No, Mallory, not in there,” Lady Alistair cried.
The captain froze, and I peaked over his shoulder to see what had caused the upset. Before him must have been his worst nightmare: at least ten women of all ages gathered together, and, no doubt, having just heard the door open, all presently silent and looking at him enquiringly.
Lady Alistair quickly collected her wits and swept in the room, very admirably making introductions as though she’d planned it all along.
“It’s unfortunate, of course,” she said to the captain, “but we were just breaking up now. If you and Miss Madera would like to wait in the library, I will be with you shortly.”
The captain bowed, and I almost followed suit until I remembered it would have been inappropriate. And since I would never dare attempt my first curtsy in such publicity, I simply did nothing.
We would have withdrawn then, but a woman I guessed to be in her thirties moved in her seat and said with a smile I can only describe as wicked, “Lady Alistair, we had no idea you were connected to the honorable Captain Mallory Tucker. What a secretive creature you are. Why didn’t you tell us?”
There were some snickers disguised as sniffles behind lacy kerchiefs.
I felt the captain stiffen next to me.
Lady Alistair smiled. “It’s no secret. His late mother was my good childhood friend.”
“You don’t say.”
“How very exalted.”
“And, if you please Mr. Tucker, clear something up for me. I understand you are a captain on the high seas, and yet reliable sources report you deal in horses. Which is the case?” And then, very pointedly, she looked at
“Waiting to be invited in, if that’s alright.”
“Of course, of course! Forgive me,” she said, and opened the door wide.
Well, I thought grudgingly, perhaps I had been a trifle impulsive in my first impression.
I looked around in interest. The foyer was large and spacious, and there was a round table with a vase full of flowers in the middle of the floor. Doors lined the hall on either side, and a large staircase swept up to the second floor. There were other furnishings, but description would be useless as antiquities are not my line of expertise.
And then my eyes went to our hostess, and I wondered when she would invite us into a room to sit down. Still she stared at the captain, something between astonishment and apprehension in her gaze. She momentarily glanced behind her at one of the closed doors, and I thought I heard voices, though I couldn’t be sure. And then she turned again and her eyes went to me. Her brows went up enquiringly and she smiled slightly.
Taking her hint, the captain said, “Lady Alistair, may I present Miss Rachel Madera.”
She gracefully held out her hand to me, and I took it.
“So, you’re finally betrothed! Congratulations Mallory. She is very pretty. How kind of you to bring her by to introduce us. Now, if that is all ….”
We both shook our heads. “Oh, we’re not getting married,” I said.
“You’re not?” she asked, and then she, too, began to look shocked, eyeing me from head to toe. “Then, you’re unchaperoned?”
“In fact, it is a part of the reason we came to see you,” the captain told her. “But the explanation is going to be involved, and I rather hoped we could sit down.”
Increasingly agitated with every word, Lady Alistair nearly wrung her hands now. “Oh, Mallory. Of course I’ll sit with you, but I’m afraid I have a small party assembled, though we’re just about to break up. So if you’ll give me a moment ….”
“Forgive us for intruding,” he answered easily. “Take all the time you need. Rachel … I mean, Miss Madera and I shall wait for you.”
Lady Alistair stopped and eyed me when the captain stumbled over his words, but she didn’t say anything. And when her eyes returned to the captain, it was to see him entering the first door on the right.
“We’ll wait here in the study. No doubt —”
“No, Mallory, not in there,” Lady Alistair cried.
The captain froze, and I peaked over his shoulder to see what had caused the upset. Before him must have been his worst nightmare: at least ten women of all ages gathered together, and, no doubt, having just heard the door open, all presently silent and looking at him enquiringly.
Lady Alistair quickly collected her wits and swept in the room, very admirably making introductions as though she’d planned it all along.
“It’s unfortunate, of course,” she said to the captain, “but we were just breaking up now. If you and Miss Madera would like to wait in the library, I will be with you shortly.”
The captain bowed, and I almost followed suit until I remembered it would have been inappropriate. And since I would never dare attempt my first curtsy in such publicity, I simply did nothing.
We would have withdrawn then, but a woman I guessed to be in her thirties moved in her seat and said with a smile I can only describe as wicked, “Lady Alistair, we had no idea you were connected to the honorable Captain Mallory Tucker. What a secretive creature you are. Why didn’t you tell us?”
There were some snickers disguised as sniffles behind lacy kerchiefs.
I felt the captain stiffen next to me.
Lady Alistair smiled. “It’s no secret. His late mother was my good childhood friend.”
“You don’t say.”
“How very exalted.”
“And, if you please Mr. Tucker, clear something up for me. I understand you are a captain on the high seas, and yet reliable sources report you deal in horses. Which is the case?” And then, very pointedly, she looked at
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